Canada has overhauled its Citizenship Act and added new rules effective now through Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act. This bill permanently ends the first-generation rule that led to “lost Canadians”. The amendments are effective immediately and retroactive. The new laws restore Canadian citizenship to many who were excluded because their parents born to a Canadian was also born or adopted outside Canada. People who qualify as Canadian citizens under the new rules are able to apply directly for proof of citizenship rather than having to go through the process of naturalization. If you apply for proof of citizenship and it is granted, you will simply need to apply for your Canadian passport.

The new rules establish that the Canadian ancestor can be a great grandparent. So long as you have an anchor ancestor who was a Canadian citizen and can prove this by birth records or naturalization records, then you too could very well be a Canadian citizen. In previous legislation, Canadian citizenship was limited to the first generation born to the Canadian citizen. If a great grandparent was a Canadian citizen, it meant that only their children were automatically citizens. But now under the new rules, the great grandparent’s grandchildren and great grandchildren are also potentially citizens. The new rules go back to the fourth generation in the lineage. And this change is retroactive, meaning that you too could be a Canadian citizen if you have Canadian ancestry in your lineage.

These changes have been long awaited by “lost Canadians”, meaning children born outside Canada who have grandparents who were Canadian citizens.

For example…..

Generation 1 – Great Grandparent – must prove that they are a citizen by birth or by naturalization.

Generation 2 – Grandparent – automatically a Canadian citizen, as they are a child of a Canadian citizen

Generation 3 – Parent – automatically a Canadian citizen, as they are part of the newly recognized Generation 2 lineage

Generation 4 – Child – automatically a Canadian citizen, as they are a part of the newly recognized Generation 3 lineage

It is important to note that the new law is considered established law, in that these individuals are already citizens and that it is understood that they have always been citizens from birth, and that this law cannot be overturned and is widely supported by precedent cases and now codified in a statute. These changes bring a sense of stability and certainty to lost Canadians and their descendants, while also ensuring citizenship for future generations to come.

Please also note that persons born after the law came into force, must show that their ancestor had approximately three years of time in Canada. The ancestor’s connection to Canada can be proven in ancestral records and birth records from the past. The Government of Canada wants to ensure that there is a substantial connection to Canada by the anchor ancestor, either by birth or by naturalization and also through the passage of time spent in Canada.